Nolde Forest State Park

I'm always looking for new trails to explore.  I didn't have time to go too far today.  I got work done early and decided to head to Reading to check out the Nolde Forest State Park.  My friends Kristin and Russ ran a race there.  Kristin said she liked it, but I wouldn't enjoy it.  She was correct.

I went to the main office first and that was neat.  I guess the place used to be a rich guy's house.  It was like an old castle.  There was a lot of surrounding land.

I couldn't run at that lot, since it closed at 4 PM.  Therefore, I used the bathroom and headed to the Sawmill Lot.  That was a good place to start.  I had no real plans and had to look at a map.  There are a lot of trails there, but the place didn't seem too big, so I wasn't concerned about getting lost.

It was a bit chilly, but overall pretty nice for December.  I went with a lightweight long sleeve shirt and fleece vest over it.  I wore tights and only had a glove on my handheld bottle hand.  I got chilled a bit later, so I added my headband.

After studying the map, I decided to take the route with the most elevation gain.  That was actually a mistake, as it was steeper than I expected.  My breathing wasn't under control yet, so I had to hike some.  I didn't anticipate anything more than a moderate climb here.  I was surprised.

I hike a lot of this early singletrack in the first mile.  Then, I stopped and took pictures at a rock outcrop.  I was on my way along one of the main trails.  This trail sucked.  It was mostly just a wide woods road with some stones and a gradual incline.  I found it very boring.

I even ended up hiking some of the easier sections.  I just didn't enjoy the running terrain.  I also ate a decent lunch and didn't feel all that great.  Plus, I was still a bit beat from yesterday's challenging effort.

Of course with it being a wide and smooth woods road, I knew I'd be able to run a lot of it.  I was thrilled when I finally managed to find a fun singletrack section.  That didn't last long though.  I was then on another woods road.  I guess there were a lot of these throughout this guy's estate.  It was no fun.

I hiked some more, but continued on.  I looked everywhere for singletrack.  Finally, I at least found some doubletrack.  Even this was easy running though.  At least it was downhill.  I found it boring.  I guess this could be a nice place to begin trail running at, but it wasn't a challenge for me at all.

I took out my map a few times, to confirm where I was.  One of the more fun sections was a wet downhill.  It had been blocked off by trees.  As I got to the bottom, I saw why.  It led to nowhere.

I had to bushwack briefly to get back to the trail.  I then came out to a pond.  The soggy ground before that was kind of fun.  Then, I climbed some more singletrack.  I ran it for a bit, but it got challenging for my tired body.

Shortly after that, I arrived back at the main office.  I checked a map and was going to climb some to get back to the Sawmill Lot.  However, I was kind of beat, so I decided to just take this paved road.

At least this was downhill.  I then was going to stay on that road because another road said it was closed.  However, I saw a singletrack below that road.  I hopped on that and it was fun.  It was along a creek and one of the best sections of the run.  Finally some singletrack.  This then led back to the parking lot.

Since I was a little over 4 miles.  I decided to continue out along the creek.  I was able to add some more climbing too.  I was breathing heavy going uphill.  I went back down and finished up near my car.  I was thrilled to be done.

I need more singletrack.  This was one of my least favorite runs ever.  At least it is done and I've tried something new.  I doubt I'll ever be back. 

Tomorrow, I'm not sure if I'll run.  I have to work and also hope to watch some of the XC Nationals at Lehigh.  A rest day wouldn't be a bad thing anyway.  I definitely hope to run on Sunday and hopefully for a long time.

5 miles - 1:00:56 (12:11 pace) 1099 feet of elevation gain

Snowy Christmas Trexler Night Run

I had some work to do yesterday, so I didn't get to run.  I was going to head to NY today for a run, but I didn't have enough daylight to make it there.  I still had to run though and chose to do so after dark.

I decided that I wanted to run Trexler and run the 10 mile loop.  That would be a solid workout.  I'd also avoid the creek crossing.  I knew the weather would be cold, but I was ready.

It was super cold when I got there.  The starting area by the Environmental Center is the worst.  It's always super windy.  That was indeed the case tonight.  I had on a lightweight long sleeve shirt under my vest.  That was cold until I warmed up a bit.  It was a good choice though.  I also wore tights along with gloves and a headband.  It worked out perfectly.  I even took the headband off midway through.

I was surprised at the start.  We had a coating of snow on the ground back home.  They had a decent accumulation.  It was probably an inch or two.  It did make a nice, soft runnable surface though.

I decided that I wasn't going to rush this run.  I walked up the early big hills and walked most of the more challenging hills.  I was taking it easy and the snow even made walking some of these a challenge.

It was nice and peaceful.  I cruised along over the first few miles.  It was pretty much uneventful.  I think some cars might've seen my headlamp and probably thought I was crazy.  The headlamp worked on this easy trail, but it was a narrow beam that was kind of hard to see.

I even walked a bit of the long hill.  There was a lone set of footprints and those eventually disappeared.  All that was left were animal tracks.  Some of the climbs were tricky, but I really had to be careful going down the steep downhills.

There are a few small streams around the big hills.  Most times of the year, they are a trickle.  Today, I barely made it leaping over them.  They were flowing well.  I can only imagine what the big creek crossing was like.

I hiked the steep hills.  Even the moderately steep ones were tricky.  The loose rocks made it very slippery and a slow go.  At least I didn't fall.  I only slipped a few times, once on some smooth rock.

I got up and over the big hills.  Then, I headed to the longer route, out around the zoo.  I was avoiding the creek crossing.  This is tough as it starts with a solid climb.  I hiked a lot of that.

The coolest part of the run then started.  I could see the zoo down below.  It was neat because they light it with Christmas Lights and play music for Christmas.  In the dark, I was worried that I wouldn't find the white trail back down, but I did eventually.

I saw some blood at one point and wondered if a deer had been shot there.  At least I didn't see blood being dragged.  I then got to the normally small stream that feeds into the big creek.  This was flowing very well.  I had no choice, but to briefly get my feet wet.  They were certainly chilly for a bit.

Next, was the climb up the Elk Trail.  I wasn't even halfway done with this run.  I was already becoming exhausted.  I hiked most of this climb, but did run some.  I saw six green, glowing eyes up ahead.  They were deer that I scared and ran off.

At the top of the ridge, things were neat.  I could really see and hear the zoo now.  I ran probably for a mile or more around the perimeter of it, on the ridge.  Eventually, I went downhill to the end of this trail.

Now was a lot of easy running.  First, it was a slick bridge over the creek.  Then, it was some pavement running for a bit, until I went back on to the Border Trail.  The rest of the Border Trail was fairly typical.  I walked some of it, but ran most of it.

Another car saw me near the road and probably thought I was crazy.  It was chilly and times and it snowed in my face a little.  At one point, something moved in these nearby cornstalks.  It was either an animal or the wind.

I hiked the last big hill before KidsPeace.  I was getting pretty beat by that point.  I began to realize that I'd probably finish the run under 2 hours though.  Taking my time and battling the snow, that was my goal.

I came out and flew on the KidsPeace road.  Then, I was back to the rolling singletrack.  These hills were a little tough.  Normally they are easy, but the snow added an interesting element.

I then crossed the last road and was about half a mile from the finish.  I knew I'd definitely come in under 2 hours.  I ran until the last steep hill.  I ran some of that, but hiked the steepest part.

I then ran the rest and finished up at 10 miles.  I was right at the parking lot.  I was exhausted, but it was a great run.  A car came in the lot for some reason and I think was really confused and surprised by me.  It then drove away.

I was glad to have such a cool and productive night run.  It was a good mental challenge too and should help me in the long run.  I'll probably run shorter tomorrow, but I should be able to run.  I have some orders to set up at work.

10 miles - 1:56:30 (11:39 pace) 2,060 feet of elevation gain

Rainy Dusk J-Burg Run

I went back and forth over whether or not to run today.  It wasn't too cold, but it was rainy and unpleasant.  I had plenty of rain to deal with over the weekend.  I decided I'd feel better if I ran though.

I wasn't looking to do much.  I headed out very late in the afternoon and barely had time for even a short run.  I went to Jacobsburg.  The plan was to run the open field short loop, so I'd have light a little longer.

I finally was dressed well.  I had on shorts, a short sleeve shirt, a jacket and a hat.  It was a good combination.  The hands were chilly at the start, but not too bad overall. 

I decided to do this route a bit differently than normal.  I went back up and around the new building and then was going to go to the fun ridge section.  Going up around the building, two deer ran from me.  It was raining a little, but not too bad.

The ridge was fun as always.  I just have to be careful.  I sure don't want to fall down it.  When it was icy at the end of last winter, it was super slippery and that nearly happened that day.

After the ridge, I came to the old house in the park.  One adult deer and three young deer were standing in the grass and staring at me.  That was cool, so I tried to take their photo.  As I started to get ready for the picture, the mother took off and the babies followed.  I tried to get them running, but had no luck.

After that part, it was up the gradual climb.  I was breathing a bit by the top, but this is a much easier climb than during the humidity of the summer.  I'll take winter running any day.

I ran through the open field sections.  At times, it was sloppy, where the trail doesn't drain well.  One cool thing was seeing the mountain in the background.  I would've preferred to be up there on the AT, but I was going for an easy day today.

I was in a rush to start this run and forgot my orange vest.  Hunting season has been going on for awhile, the weather was crappy and I was running an open field section, so I wasn't too worried.  Then, after mile 3, I came around a corner and startled a hunter.  He didn't point his gun at me, but he did raise it slightly.  I apologized and was lucky he didn't aim at me.

After that point, it was all downhill.  I was having fun cruising around and enjoying the easy day.  I arrived back at my car around 3.65 miles.  I wanted to run to 4 miles, so I went out the start of the loop and back for some distance.  I then finished the run.

It was a nice and quick run.  There were some events.  Nothing was too challenging, the conditions sucked and the trail was kind of boring, but not every run can be spectacular.  It was good to get this one done.

I'm not sure on the plan for tomorrow.  It is supposed to snow farther up north.  I might try to take advantage of that.  I'm thinking that I may try to run in the Delaware Water Gap, but the Cliffs area.  That's a lot of ridge running, but pretty scenery too.  It would probably be neat in the snow, with the combination of waterfalls, ponds and cliffs.  I'll see what my schedule is like.

4.01 miles - 36:54 (9:13 pace)

South Mountain (Lehigh) Recovery Night Run

I felt pretty good after the 50K on Saturday.  Really, I could've run yesterday.  However, I took off and went to the Eagles game.  I took a nap, instead of running in the afternoon.  I had to get out at night then.

It was a cold evening.  The temperature was below 30 degrees with some wind chill.  I wore tights and a ColdGear top.  I added my fleece vest over top of that.  I'm not sure if that was needed.  I also had a gloves on and a headband.  I ended up taking the headband off because it was too hot.  I also opened my vest.

The start was tough.  My eyes were watering from the cold.  That made it hard to see.  The beginning was downhill and rocky, so that was difficult as well.  I had to borrow my dad's headlamp and I didn't figure out how to put it on the brightest setting until I got home.  The beam seemed narrow too.  I was able to get by with the situation, but I had to be cautious and slow.

The early uphill was a bit challenging.  It went on longer than I expected.  Still, I had to run it all.  After things flattened out and I hit the next climb, I decided to hike some of that.  I knew I could run it, but didn't want to push too much.

This was somewhat fun.  It would've been better if I could've seen better.  However, I'm glad I know the loop so well.  I didn't miss any turns.

I then crossed the road and hit the downhill switchback section.  That was somewhat fun.  It was rocky too, but I survived.  I knew that this was the hardest part.

I didn't want to add the shorter loop, so I ran on to the road.  I got to the lookout.  A Lehigh cop car was in the area.  I waited for him to go by before I got back on to the trails.

I was now into the fun, gradual uphill section.  The rocks were somewhat tough to see this time.  At least I didn't fall.  One part of the trail along this ridge was wet.  That could be interesting later in the winter.  Everywhere else, the ground was frozen and crunchy.  There wasn't any ice though.  I love this kind of weather.

Near the end of the climb, I heard something run in the woods.  I'm sure it was a deer.  A bit later, I was on the paved section above there.  I heard something run back down.  I assume the same deer.

I was just over 4 miles when I arrived at the top.  I had not wanted to do more mileage on this recovery run.  I was having some chafing issues too.  Therefore, I ran around the Mountaintop Campus to finish off the run.

I took a long loop on the pavement to do it.  That gave me more mileage, as I got over 5 of them in.  It also added some elevation gain.  I saw a Lehigh cop car again, probably the same one.  They paused for a bit, but didn't say anything to this crazy runner.

One of the reasons that I needed to get this run in is tomorrow's weather.  It's supposed to be heavy rain, if not ice.  Farther north, it will even snow.  I may run a little anyway, but I'm not sure and I'm not counting on it.

5.01 miles - 55:14 (11:01 pace) 762 feet of elevation gain   

2014 New York City Trail Festival and Greenbelt Ultra 50K

A few months back, I signed up for a 50K on Staten Island.  It was kind of close and a good opportunity to get in a race before the snow hits.  Of course the weather didn't quite cooperate today.

I had only about 2.5 hours of sleep.  I got there an hour early and was ready to go.  We were delayed slightly.  Since I didn't know the course, I wanted to get out in front of as many people as possible.  I was hoping to run a sub 5 hour race, but I was unsure with the expected conditions.

The weather was what made things tough.  It rained overnight and was supposed to rain, but not much during the race.  I wore compression shorts and a short sleeve shirt.  I was chilly, but comfortable at the start.  The race director thought I was kind of crazy.  Some woman was really bundled up.

I started off near the front.  I was probably about 10th or so.  That was good positioning.  It wasn't too big of a field.  I ran a lot early.  There were plenty of short hills early, but nothing too tough.  First, we did a 10k loop.  Then, we'd run two big loops to finish up.

This was a nice singletrack.  However, too much of the course was almost the same for the first half or so of the race.  That kind of bored me and the early miles seemed to go by slowly.  It is definitely a nice trail system within New York City.  It's just not wild, like some of the places I run.  Of course, I knew that going into the race.

This first loop was very tough on me.  Since I was trying to run the whole thing or most of it, I wore my hydration pack.  I also packed my jacket in there, in case of rain.  That was a mistake and my lower back was killing me early.  Every hill was painful.

Thankfully, this loop was only 10K.  I took out my jacket when we got back to the start.  That gave me new life.  My back felt a little better, for now.

I didn't enjoy running the same route again in the beginning of this loop.  I was still running a lot, but slowing down.  My first three miles were all under 9 minutes.  These were now over 10 minutes each.

The miles just seemed to be going by so slowly.  I had people running around me a lot of the time.  Quite a few of them were passing me.  I couldn't ever relax.  It seemed like someone was always on my tail.  There was a 25K and 10K, so some of those other runners might've mixed in.

There was one section that became quite muddy early on.  All the traffic made things worse.  There were a bunch of road crossings.  It was nice to get to the first one and be on to a different section.  This part was only slightly different.

I came through 8 miles, about the quarter way point, still on pace for a sub 5 hour finish.  However, I was getting sore again.  I couldn't believe how long I had to go just to get back to the start.

I didn't drink enough and wasn't eating much either.  I certainly need to get better at that.  It was hard with few chances to rest/recover.  I let people pass me when they came up from behind.

There was a stretch that was pretty flat for some time.  However, it was sloppy too.  We then crossed another road and went around a golf course.  This ended up being my least favorite section.  It was a ridge that was muddy and went up a bit.  I basically just hiked it, rather than trying to run there.  I was so frustrated.  I hit a low point and it was early.

Not long after the ridge, we came to a stone trail section.  This was terrible.  It was like a mile of rail trail, which I hate.  That said, I am good on that terrain.  I ran a decent mile here.

Next up was an aid station.  I was bonking, so I grabbed some crackers.  That helped, but only briefly.  I had to hike a lot as I headed back to the start area.  There was a lot of hilly terrain near that too.  I tried to focus on getting back there, but it was hard.

I faced a tough decision too.  My back was killing me.  However, if I dropped my pack, I didn't have a handheld and would've had to run the final 12 miles without water.  I went back and forth with that.

I passed some guy near the finish area in wild colors.  He was doing the 10K, along with several slow women.  It was hard to believe I was only at mile 19 at this point.

What made things very tough was that it began pouring rain.  It was kind of good timing though, in that I could grab my jacket and put it on.  I had nearly been cramping and was struggling, so I stayed at the aid station for awhile to refuel.  It was kind of tough to go back out there for so long in a downpour.

I knew I had to just keep moving.  I hit a high point, I'm sure thanks to refueling.  The Coke I drank probably helped.  I was able to run for a mile or two without hiking.  I even ran some of the short uphills.

It didn't last.  Soon, I was passed by two women.  They weren't moving that fast, so I thought they might be in a shorter race.  However, I'd come to find out that they weren't.  Every now and then someone else would come passing me by.

The thing that was tough now was not only the rain, but the rain making it cold.  I was starting to freeze.  My nuts were chafing too and getting cold.  I did have to put my hands down my pants to keep them warm every now and then when I wasn't near anyone.

I hit a low point for awhile, but then I got a boost when I passed this Asian guy.  He was moving slowly and stretching often.  I put some distance between us.  However, that didn't last long.

I was getting really exhausted.  In the stretch between miles 22-24, I was slowing considerably and hiking a lot.  This is always a difficult stretch.  You are so far along and so beat up, but still have so far to go to the finish.  The 5 hour time goal was long gone and it was looking more like a sub 6 hour run was the new goal.

At least most of this trail was runnable.  However, I was hiking a lot of that.  Even the flat sections.  The Asian guy caught back up to me and that was another low moment when he passed me.

Things would only get worse, as I hit ridge section past the golf course.  I hiked it and bitched most of the way.  I ran sporadically in this part.

At this point, I was actually looking forward to the flat, stone trail, even though I didn't like it.  I knew at least I could run and it would be a decent mile or so.  Once I got to that, I got a huge boost, as I saw the Asian guy and another guy up ahead.  I think I had just taken in some calories too.

I was by no means flying, at least by my road standards.  However, when compared to the rest of the people, who were often walking this part, I was cruising.  I passed those guys pretty quickly.  I put some huge distance between me and them.

I was now on a high.  I saw another guy who had passed me earlier.  I caught him on this part too.  I was so pumped up by now.  I was around mile 27 and moving.

Then, we got to the trail section.  I was happy that the stone was over, but at the same time, sad because I thought my glory was over too.  That wasn't the case at all though.

In fact, I passed another guy early on on the trail section.  This part was mostly downhill, so I ran it.  I moved as well as I had since the beginning of the race.  I was booking it and just focusing on the upcoming mile.

At the last aid station, I caught up to the two women.  They walked a little and I passed them by.  We said encouraging stuff to each other.  I was in a groove.

I wasn't sure how long this would last, but I was thrilled.  I just decided to go with it as long as I could.  I blew by another guy on the one downhill.  Then, I began to slow when I hit some hills.  Still, I put in probably around 3-4 really productive miles.  I had come back from the dead.

After some more road crossings, it was back to the main area.  This part was much more hilly and I had to hike.  Once I had slowed down, I began to realize that I was close to cramping up.  Since I was close to the finish, I kept running as much as I could, but slowly.

I passed one of the volunteers and thought I was near the finish.  However, I kept forgetting parts and that was getting frustrating.  Still, I pressed on.

At one point, I looked behind me and saw the two women.  I thought I was a sitting duck, as they closed in.  However, they must've hiked some of the hills because I seemed to pull away.  I really didn't want to get re-passed so late in the race.

That factor was motivating me to the finish line.  I kept looking for the steps section near the finish, but it seemed to never come.  Finally, it arrived and there was still longer to go than I expected.  I kept running now though, no matter how slow.

I saw one guy up ahead struggling to reach the finish.  I could've caught him, but once he started willing himself to run, I let him go.  It was weird because I think he might've only been done with one loop and was just going back out.  If so, I don't know why he was pushing so much.

I finished a few minutes under 6 hours.  It wasn't what I hoped for, but it was still about a 40 minute PR.  I knew I'd PR today, unless it was just awful.  In the end, I was thrilled, not with the race overall, but my awesome finish.  I passed 7 runs in the last few miles.  That is amazing.  I was nearly crying at the finish and I was so fired up.  I don't think I've ever run that well before, especially considering how down I was.  I also battled through a lot of rain and mud.  Who knows how well I could've run without that.

There was some good and some bad.  I learned quite a few things.  I need to run without a pack.  I also need to eat and drink more, especially early.  I need to run slower in the first 10 miles too.  I'll go back to the drawing board and hopefully improve.  I also found that I like more challenging courses much more than courses that are completely runnable like this one.

I will say it was a well run event.  It was easy to follow the course, even though I got off track a few times.  I just wasn't paying attention.  We got a nice finisher's sweatshirt too.  I like to do different races, so I'm not sure if I'll do this again any time soon.  However, I would certainly recommend it.

Tomorrow, I'd definitely resting up.  I was nearly cramping afterward, but feel pretty good now.  I probably should've rested more before the race.  My legs had felt it early in this race.  Maybe I'll get back to running on Monday.  It'll likely be more climbing.

31 miles - 5:48:42 (11:13 pace)

South Mountain (Lehigh) Long Loop

I was tired yesterday, so I didn't run in the afternoon.  I went out to South Mountain (Lehigh) at night.  I tried to run, but my headlamp quit before I even hit the trail.  The batteries are new.  I don't think it likes the cold.  At least that didn't happen on the trail.  I packed up and headed home.

I was determined to run at South Mountain.  It has some challenging climbing, but not too much.  With a 50k tomorrow, I didn't want to overdo it.  That said, I wanted to do a little more than the usual 4.5 Decker loop.

The weather was tricky once again.  I had on short sleeves and a jacket.  I wore tights, but shorts probably would've been better.  I kept a glove on my handheld hand, but other than that, I used no other gloves or hats.  If anything I was overdressed again and chilly by the end.

I started off with my usual route.  I had to be cautious on the muddy early downhills.  I was happy not to fall.  I was going fairly slow.  It does amaze me how much things change as the run goes on.  Early on, some sections seem technical, but later in the run, the same section would be easy.

I crossed the road and began the short but steep climbs to the top.  First, I stopped for a bathroom break.  I saw three deer, but they ran off.  All four deer today ran off, unlike the other day when they were just hanging out on Mt. Tammany.

The climb is always tough in the cold air.  The other challenging thing early on is that my eyes water.  That's not a big problem on roads, but it is interesting with rocks on trails.  At least I didn't fall.  If I didn't know this first climb so well, I might've walked some of it.  I didn't though.  I huffed and puffed and made it up both that one and the next climb.

Then, it was on to the fun downhill part.  That was good for recovering.  Most of this route is fun singletrack.  The switchbacks here are neat.  There's some technical running too.

I got to the bridge over the creek before long.  Usually, I head on the road to the lookout at that point.  However, today I wanted to do the longer route.  I've rarely run this piece and don't quite know it.

I knew how to go through the art garden section, where Lehigh students have made weird art sculptures.  I ran through there and snapped a few photos.  The problem was I didn't quite know where to go after that.  These trails aren't heavily used, so at times the trails are hard to follow.  I had to backtrack a few times.

Eventually, I came out behind an old TV studio.  However, I realized that I was going the opposite way that I wanted to.  I turned around and tried another way, but that didn't work either.  Eventually, I went behind the TV studio and ran the loop backward from the way I sort of know.  I clearly need to get better at this section.  At least I added some distance and elevation to the run.

Finally, I came out where I wanted to.  I went to the lookout and took a photo.  Then, I went back on to the familiar route.  That had a nice gradual climb.  I thought about a friend that I thought was a good friend and I ran with here once, but now haven't talked to in months.  That was depressing.  One great thing with trails is I don't look at my watch much and when I do, I usually check the time or elevation gain first.  That makes the run fly by.

I was disappointed to see that I'd only be around 6.5 miles if I finished up the loop normally.  I decided not to turn up the hill.  Instead, I stayed on the trail.  That's when I saw another deer.  This was a fun singletrack switchback section.  It kept going down and down.  I wanted to see where it would go, but I also didn't want to descend too much.

Finally, as I was getting tired of the switchbacks, the trail turned and went along the ridge.  That was fun and there were some cool views between the trees.  I forgot that we had run this section during Decker's first run there.  Some parts were rocky and quite the challenge.  Other times, it was fun and very runnable.

This did seem to go on for a long time.  It had a nice view of the Sands Casino.  Eventually it began to climb.  That was mildly tough, but it was a gradual ascent.

I didn't totally know where I was until I came out to a powerline clearing.  They were actually doing construction above me.  I could've taken a new paved road there, but I opted to stay on the trail.  A little bit later, I took the less steep turn.  I then realized that I was near the start's road crossing.  I needed to go up the other way.

I did the steep climb to finish.  I was breathing pretty heavy, but it never got too steep.  I knew what was in store too, so that helped.  Finally, I ran on the road and to my car.  I finished up at 8.5 miles.

This was actually a great route.  I forgot about the whole last few miles and just how challenging they can be.  There are still more trails and I think even more climbing that I can do there.  This loop would actually be perfect for doing a couple times for 20+ miles.  It's basically all runnable too, so that makes it enjoyable and at the same time, it can be challenging.  One other nice thing is that throughout the entire run, I encountered no other people.

Now, it is time to rest.  I'm not actually tapering as I'm racing the 50k on Staten Island tomorrow.  That should be fun, except that it is supposed to rain a lot.  My shoes aren't great in the mud


either.  At least the temperature will be warm.  This is an easier course than I usually train on, so I should be able to run most of it and PR with ease.  My PR is rather pathetic at this point.

8.5 miles - 1:39:49 (11:45 pace) 1,504 feet of elevation gain

Foggy Early Winter Double Mt. Tammany Run

I wanted to run yesterday, but it didn't workout.  Originally, I was going to head to the Delaware Water Gap.  However, we had some freezing rain, so I couldn't chance the travel.  Then, I did drive to South Mountain after dark, to get in a night run.  However, it was super foggy at the top of the mountain.  I couldn't take a chance with a crappy headlamp too.

I had to get out to run today.  I headed out mid afternoon to run at the Delaware Water Gap.  I was looking forward to climbing here while the weather is still cooperating.  It was semi warm for this time of year.  It was quite foggy, but most of the snow had melted.  I'm quickly learning that I always need a jacket this time of year for mountain climbs.  Some spots are cold, while others are hot.  With hiking parts of the climbs, I'm always chilly at some point.

I drove over to the parking lot in New Jersey.  The plan was to double loop Mt. Tammany and add some partial climbing toward Sunfish Pond, if time permitted.  I wanted to loop in each direction.  I figured that running up the Blue Trail would be easier, so I started with that.

The first part of this was awesome.  It was a clear trail with some gradual climbing and the creek flowing below, while the mountainsides were covered with snow.  I came across a women hiking and a guy with his dog.  I yelled early, so I didn't startle the woman.  The dog was small, but seemed to be in the fighting mood.  It didn't do anything though.  Those were the only two people that I saw all run.  I had the place mostly to myself on this dreary day.

I got on to the blue trail.  I had already climbed a few hundred feet.  I ran the early part of the Blue Trail.  Somewhere around 400 feet of elevation gain, my breathing just got too labored and I began hiking.  That first climb is always so challenging, when my body isn't ready to run and I breathe heavy.

This Blue Trail was definitely a combination of running and hiking.  Some parts are fairly flat and runnable.  Others, are just too steep for me right now, or too rocky.  It seemed like it took quite awhile to get to the top.  Some of the scenery was neat.  Near the top, there was snow off to the sides of the trail and a lot of fog in the air.

I was happy that the rocks weren't bothering my feet too much.  They have recovered since the DWG Fatt Ass.  It was great to get to the top.  My back was a little sore from the climb.  I sure wearing a hydration pack didn't help much either.

It had been warm on the climb, but now it was chilly as I came to the windy side of the mountain.  I was running along the ridge and cruising along.  Then, right off to the side of the trail was a deer.  He just stared at me.  I stopped and stared back.  I couldn't quite believe how close he was and he didn't seem to care that I was getting closer.  I didn't want to scare him too much, so I kept standing and watching.  Finally, he headed up into the grass a bit and I walked past.  That was definitely my closest deer encounter to date. 

I cruised along the Blue Trail and then it ended.  I was at the top with the view of Mt. Minsi, except it was so foggy that you couldn't see anything.  That was interesting.

I was then on to the Red Dot Trail.  I missed the main part of it again, just like in the race.  I thought going downhill would be tough.  I was worried that I'd slip.  While it wasn't easy and I couldn't exactly run down at a decent clip, it wasn't quite slow either.  Getting down the rock scramble was somewhat interesting.

The great thing about running this mountain twice was that I got to know it better.  I've still only run or hiked here a handful of times.  I'm learning where I can and can't run.  That will be a big help going forward.

It was great to finally get to the bottom.  It took me just over an hour and I think I would've finished up under an hour without stopping for the deer.  That was worth it though.

I stopped at my car briefly.  I opened my bag and ate 3 pretzels.  I sure needed the nutrition.  I was sweating, so I drank some more.  I then headed back out.

This time, I would head up Mt. Tammany on the Red Dot Trail first.  This is the way that the crazy loop race in the spring goes.  I'm not ready to do that one.  I ran for quite a bit, but this is a tough one.

I was hoping to make it to the rock scramble section before having to hike.  However, that didn't happen.  One early section was fairly rocky and steep.  I pushed through for a bit before hiking.  So much of climbing is mental and I need to work on it, although of course I was breathing heavy.  It's really a matter of how long you can hold out and suffer through.

I went up the rock scramble fairly quickly.  I put gloves on partway through, so that I wouldn't cut my hands on the jagged edges.  Even after the rockiest part, I wasn't able to run much.  It was still rocky and steep.  That was disappointing.  I did run where I could though.

My back bothered me a lot hiking up this time.  At the top, I was around 2500 feet of elevation gain, with only about 5 miles completed.  That is certainly tough.  I was happier with this summit when compared to the other direction.  I ran more of this than I anticipated.  Still, I hiked a lot.

I ran along the ridge again on the Blue Trail.  My deer friend was still there hanging out, although farther up into the woods.  I wondered if I would see him again.  I came across two more deer a short time later on the bottom side of the ridge.  They ran off a little more than the first deer.  I tiptoed over all the rocks at the top.

Descending the Blue Trail is fun.  I was able to pretty much run down the whole thing, although slowly.  It was still quite wet.  I was amazed that I had yet to fall and then it happened.  I was almost walking down a flat rock and slide and fell on my butt.  Luckily, it was just a little dirty and didn't actually hurt.

I continued to cruise down the hill.  I kept an eye on my watch, as I was hoping to complete this loop in under an hour.  I came to the bottom of the Blue Trail and made my way toward the Appalachian Trial.  The footbridges were icy, so I had to be careful.

I wanted to run back to my car, drop my pack and then run a little more.  I was at about 2500 feet of elevation gain and I wanted to run to 3000 feet of elevation gain.  I came across the woman from early and this time I caused her to jump.  She asked how far and where I'd run.  She was impressed when I told her.  I think this loop took about 56 minutes.

I headed back out after dropping my pack.  Darkness was closing in.  I was only planning on a short bit of running though.  I chatted with the woman briefly again and was then on my way.  Since I was running the more gradual section toward Sunfish Pond, I was able to run most of it.  I did hike a little.

I gradually went up and up.  I was closing in on 3000 feet.  At one point, the trail flattened for awhile.  I was just short of my goal elevation gain, but decided to turn around.  I had already gone out about a mile.

I headed back.  I could see the shadows of the mountains at one point and they just looked awesome at dusk.  I had to pay attention though, because there were plenty of rocks and I could barely see them.

I cruised down of a bit and then when I got to a fairly steep descent, I turned around and ran back up briefly.  I went until my watch was over 3000 feet.  Of course, when I did an elevation correction later, it was just shy of that.

I finished up just in time.  It was getting super dark and I didn't have my headlamp on.  It was great to be done with such a productive run.  I got a lot climbing in, so it was a great day once again.  I'm very happy with it.  I'll be back to this place over and over and over again.

Tomorrow, I'm sticking a little closer to home.  I'm hoping to run a loop at South Mountain (Lehigh).  That should be about 8 miles, with some climbing, but less than today.  It should be a little more relaxing of a day.  I'm running a 50k on Saturday, so I don't want to overdo it.  I'm hoping I'll be able to end the week with over 10,000 feet of elevation gain.  That would be outstanding.


9.57 miles - 2:31:55 (15:52 pace) 2,914 feet of elevation gain